Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Eagles "Pass the Torch" at graduation

A total of 19 seniors were presented diplomas, thereby making them graduates of Emmet.

Emmet held its commencement exercises Thursday, May 12, in the Ross Gymnasium. The gym was filled with parents, relatives and friends of the graduates, as they took one of the biggest steps of their young lives.

Josh Barham gave the salutatory address, saying the students have been told they are Eagles all their lives and now its time for them to fly.

The valedictory address was given by Kelly Byrd, who said the class has been through a lot together, and after graduation they would never be together as a class again.

Being together has taught us more than we know, she said. Congratulations to all my classmates. We couldnt have made it without each other.

Pam Elliott, third grade teacher at Emmet, was the featured speaker. Elliott has taught at Emmet for 10 years, with this group being her first class.

Having me speak here is the best honor a teacher can receive, she said. For the past 13 years you have been writing a story with yourselves as characters.

In kindergarten, she said, they learned their ABCs and kept adding details to the story along the way. Each paragraph was a detail in disappointment or success.

Tonight your story comes to an end with graduation. School has been your practice for life, she said. You have practiced your story, now youre ready to write your book.

Some, Elliott said, will begin their book by going to college, while others wont. Some will have definite plans for their lives, others have no idea.

Its OK, each of your chapters will be different, she said. Some of you may be in the military, become teachers or preachers. Later you may want to be something different.

Elliott offered five goals for the graduates to follow throughout their lives. She talked about the goals in reverse order, going from five to one.

The fifth goal is to vote because its the right of every American. Goal four is to put needs before wants. There will be plenty of things the graduates want, she said, but they need to make sure their needs are met first.

Third on the list was to guard their integrity. She urged the graduates to do whats right all the time and set a good example, even when no ones around to see them do it.

The first and second goals followed a similar vein, with the second being to pray daily, and the first goal to FROG, or fully rely on God.

Its not always easy to make the right choice, Elliott said. But you will always carry the story or your years. Make sure your book begins as one youd be proud to have others read.